Richest up 275% over 3 decades

The richest Americans — the top "1 percent" targeted by the Occupy Wall Street movement — saw a huge 275 percent increase in income over the last three decades, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report.

The after-tax income for the highest-income households grew the most out of any group from 1979-2007, the CBO reported. The richest 1 percent of Americans saw a 275 percent growth in household income, while the poorest 20 percent experienced just 18 percent growth.

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For the rest of America’s wealthiest households, not including the top 1 percent, income grew by 65 percent. The 60 percent in the middle of the income scale saw just under 40 percent growth in after-tax income, according to the CBO.

“As a result of that uneven income growth, the distribution of after-tax household income in the United States was substantially more unequal in 2007 than in 1979,” the report’s summary stated.

On average, after government transfers and federal taxes, household income increased by 62 percent, the CBO said.

Occupy Wall Street protesters frequently draw attention to the income disparity between the richest and poorest Americans. A popular “Occupy” slogan is “We are the 99 percent,” highlighting the fact that the top 1 percent of the country’s taxpayers hold about a third of the nation’s wealth.